The Lucky One
by goodnessgraciouschild
Summary: This is the story of how I, Kali Woods, made my way into headlines and how my life came to be the way it is portrayed now; the real story. (A Nick Jonas Fanfic.)
1. Chapter 1

In life, you'll learn people love to bend and shape the truth to fit their stories. Whether it's your friend trying to make herself seem more of a victim in a situation than she is, or the media trying to sell a quick buck on some celebrity's personal life, they'll lie to make it more interesting. And while it's useful, sometimes the lies become out of hand and well, the truth will come out eventually. In my experience, the media and its lies can be untrue and harsh. **This is the story of how I, Kali Woods, made my way into headlines and how my life came to be the way it is portrayed now. The real story.**

If someone asked me how to describe my best friend in one word, it would simply be "indescribable." He had a way of getting everything he wanted no matter how hard, or how little he tried. Nothing slowed him down. And when he told me he wanted to grow up and become a rock star, he made that wish come true too. He liked to consider himself like James Bond, an average man by day and a rock star by night.

Despite his reputation of being a player who got his kicks flirting around, (once again, the media loves to bend the truth,) he was the sweetest and most down to earth person I had ever met. Although, he was attractive, I had to give him that. He had soft chocolate curls with auburn eyes to match and freckles that traced constellations along his face. He was always fit with strong arms and hard abs. He played almost every sport you could think of.

For the first 18 years of my life, he was my best friend. I didn't have a horrible life per say, but if I was given the choice to change it, I would; but I wouldn't change him. I wouldn't change anything about him or the way he made me feel. The way he could make my entire day better with one smile. My best friend was the most wonderful person in my entire life. And I loved him.

It was a regular Tuesday afternoon at the coffee shop I had been working at downtown. Not too busy, not too slow either. We had a few regulars come and go, but one particular familiar face made my heart jump.

"Nick!" I exclaimed at the face that walked in.

"Kali." He smiled as he engulfed me with a hug and surrounded me with his comforting scent.

I figured his older brother was somewhere close behind so I took a step back from him and put my hand to my face in a 'thoughtful' manner.

"Hmm… Let's see… Joe wants a regular mocha with a packet of sweetener and Nicholas wants one venti iced coffee, half and half."

"Right again, Miss Woods." Nick smiled showing all of his teeth. I couldn't help but blush. I loved when he did that.

"Well it's easy to get it right when you both always order the same thing all the time."

Joe finally made his way up to the counter after taking his sweet time making his way into the building.

"Hey, California" He smirked at me.

"Hey, Joe the Hoe." I remarked emotionless, making my way back behind the counter.

"Hey! You promised me you weren't going to call me that anymore. Besides aren't you like weirdly religious about like 'human sexual rights' or something."

"I have no problem with people partying and having fun and enjoying themselves. What I don't appreciate is when men take advantage of women by promising to call them after their night of fun… and then don't." I glared at him as I finally turned my gaze from the piece of paper I had been writing on.

Suddenly his face lit up and he chuckled darkly. "Oh right, your friend."

"You lied to her."

"Technically, I never promised anything. She asked if I would call her afterwards and I said I'd think about it." He shrugged with a smug look on his face. God, if only he was the one who had to comfort her over the phone at one in the morning.

I rolled my eyes and handed the coffee over to him. "Just take your damn coffee and get out of my face. That'll be $2.50."

He stuck his hand in his pocket and attempted to retrieve his wallet. After a minute of him fishing in his pockets both Nick and I got the idea and groaned.

"Hey Nick—"

"I got it… again." He rolled his eyes handing me the money for both his and Joe's coffee.

I handed Nick his coffee as he took a seat in front of me and Joe turned to become a part of the afternoon mass.

"I'm sorry about your friend." Nick sighed, taking a long sip from his coffee.

"It's okay, I guess. She'll get over him eventually… she just seemed so into him, you know?"

He nodded with sympathy.

"So how's life?" He asked, looking at me curiously.

"You know the usual. Tiring and then boring and then overwhelming and then you're tired all over again." I sighed and began wiping the counter for the millionth time today.

He nodded in agreement and shot me a sad smile.

"What about you?" I asked.

He shrugged, "The same as always."

I couldn't help but notice the bags under his eyes and his seemingly tired posture. I couldn't imagine the kind of schedule he had to go through.

"How is, um… Chad is it?" He asked, jokingly. His sleepy eyes, glittering.

As soon as I tore my eyes away from his face and gathered the question, I rolled my eyes. You would think after dating someone for 3 months the joke of forgetting his name would grow old after a while, but not to Nick.

"It's Brad, and you know that." I retorted hitting him playfully on the arm. He chuckled.

Slowly, my smile faded when I began to think of an honest answer. "He's… fine."

A look of worry fell across his face and he looked as though he might respond but he kept his mouth shut. A few moments later, he hesitated before opening up a new subject.

"Do you wanna… come over sometime? Nothing serious, just like lay around and watch Law & Order: SVU marathons and eat pizza… like old times."

I chuckled to myself, it didn't seem as though the last time was too long ago, but it sounded fun.

"Sure," I smiled. "I'd like that..." I leaned over counter to speak softly, "let's just keep that between you and me though." I winked.

"How about tomorrow night?"

"Tomorrow's great."

"Sounds like a date, Miss Woods. I'll see you at 7." I smiled in a way I hadn't smiled in a long time, he just had that effect on me.

An effect I knew he would always have on me.

* * *

**New story time! This is a story I've been working for... well ever, and it means a lot to me. Kali is a character I've been writing about for nearly 5 years now and I feel it's time to finally put her to rest, and I'm hoping this story will do that for me. Although, knowing you can probably expect a few one shots of her and this story every now and then. I hope you guys enjoy it!**

** Reviews are my biggest inspiration and motivation to keep writing :) **

**- xx Alley**


	2. Chapter 2

"Joseph! What the hell did you do to my home?!" I called walking to the living room after a long day of work.

"Calm down, I'll help you clean up later." He shrugged, leaning back farther into the chair. He took one of the million open bags of chips on the table and continued to eat.

The piles of random clothes, food, and miscellaneous objects laid in piles all over the room.

"There is no later! Kali is coming over in an hour and my house looks like it was demolished with a wrecking ball!"

"Alright, fine! I'll leave." He stood up from the chair as he grabbed his keys off the table beside him. It's amazing he was able to find them under the piles of trash.

"It's astounding to me how you don't even live here and still manage to turn my house into a landfill." I groaned, pulling out an empty trash bag and began to clear up the room.

"Have fun with your girlfriend." He smirked, patting me on the back before leaving.

I rolled my eyes and chuckled. _Yeah, my girlfriend, _I kidded to myself.

Not that I wouldn't enjoy having Kali as my girlfriend. She was very pretty, no matter what she wore or how much makeup she had on (some people were just born beautiful). She was also very caring, understanding and sweet. It just wouldn't work.

She's my best friend and I wouldn't want to put that in jeopardy. Not only that, but she was in a relationship. A very serious relationship from what I could see. Don't ask me what I thought of him, not that I knew too much about him. There was just something so off about him, something I can't quite put my finger on.

I spent what felt like the next hour vacuuming, scrubbing and picking up his trash. I let him watch my place for me for a few hours while I made a few loose ends on some songs, and I come home to this. This has to be like a new world record.

By the time, I looked at the clock I realized Kali would be here in a little less than 15 minutes. I threw a few extra blankets and pillows onto the couch and ordered a large cheese pizza before plopping onto the couch.

I rested on the couch for a good ten minutes before I heard the doorbell. "I'll be there in a minute!" I grabbed my wallet and strolled to the door. "If only you were only 5 minutes later… My pizza would have been free…" I remarked looking down at my wallet as I attempted to pull out a 20.

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you." She teased, her bright blue eyes glittering.

"Kali! I thought you were the pizza delivery guy."

"I'm sorry, did I come too early? I could wait a few minutes if you want…"

"Don't be ridiculous, you worry too much." I chuckled and gestured into my apartment, "Come on in, you're just in time for Law & Order."

She strode in and plopped down onto what she considered "her side of the couch."

Not before long, a familiar bark could be heard coming from my room. My dog, Elvis, ran into the room and jumped up beside her.

"Hey Buddy!" She exclaimed, rubbing him in the way she knew how he liked it. Cuddling up with the blankets on the couch, she turned the volume on the TV up and she recited the intro to the show:

"In the criminal justice system, sexually based offences are considered especially heinous. In New York City—"

Halfway through I rushed over to the couch and sat down beside her as I joined her in reciting it with her.

"-the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories."

Nearly two seconds into the episode, there was another knock on the door. I looked over at the clock and groaned. "One more minute, they couldn't have waited one more minute." She chuckled at me, cuddling farther into the couch.

I opened the door to a skinny, tall kid who couldn't be more than 17. "That'll be $10." I handed him a 20 and he handed me back my change. His gaze made its way over the couch with Kali cuddled into it, "Cute girlfriend."

"Oh, no… she's not my girlfriend. She's just a good friend."

He chuckled and handed me the box. "Yeah, sure. Have a good night, man."

I rolled my eyes at the idea once again and set the box down in front of Kali on the table. She was focused on the TV and didn't seem to notice.

"Pizza is here, sleeping beauty." I laughed, waving a hand in front of her face.

She laughed untangling herself from her cocoon and went to grab a slice. I playfully swatted her hand away. I've had enough of a mess in my apartment for today, the last thing I needed was another one. The sudden fear and alarm was apparent on her face as she lowered her hand. Her hand trembled and she bit her lip to keep her mouth shut.

"Kali?" I whispered softly. She looked terrified out of her mind.

A second later, she shook her head and managed a smile I knew was fake. "I'm sorry, I'm fine. I guess I'm just a little out of it today."

"Are you sure—"

"Yes it's nothing, Nick. Just drop it." She sounded somewhere between hurt and annoyed.

I gave her a pitiful look, wavering to stand up from my seat. "I'm going to go get some plates."

I pushed myself off of the couch and grabbed two paper plates, a couple plastic cups and a 2 liter of Pepsi. Kali had always preferred Pepsi over Coke, so I made sure I always had some stashed away somewhere.

"You know, I don't think he committed the murder." She remarked, referring the show. It never ceased to amaze me how well Kali could recover from uncomfortable situations like that.

"But they have solid evidence against him." I stated, making my way back over to my seat with the supplies.

"Please, you can make any person look bad if you try hard enough." She scoffed, pouring herself a drink and cuddling back into the couch.

I laughed, sitting next to her on the couch and slapping a piece of pizza onto my plate. I went to hand her a plate before I realized just how well she cocooned herself into it.

"Am I never going to get my blanket back?" I teased.

"If you can cut me out of it."

"How are you supposed to eat, silly?"

For a moment I swore I saw something that resembled fear flash in her eyes before going to an expression that looked completely emotionless, "No, it's fine. I'm not hungry."

"You were hungry a second ago." I mused. I assumed my voice reflected the way I felt, confused and little concerned. Yet I made sure there was a tone of amusement to lighten the sudden tension in the air.

"Opinions can change."

"Are you sure, you don't want eat anything? I bought it for the both of us, it wouldn't be fair for me to eat it all myself."

"You mean you wouldn't mind if I had a slice?"

"Of course not, honey. Take as much as you want."

She smiled at me and unwrapped herself from the blanket and took a couple of slices and slapped them onto the plate. About a slice and a half later she nearly jumped off the couch in excitement.

"I told you he didn't do it! I knew the secretary seemed suspicious!"

I chuckled as I pulled her into me for a hug. "You were right." She usually was when it came to storylines, I don't know why I bothered arguing about it with her. Maybe it was the way she got excited when she was right.

"Like always." She giggled, pulling herself into me for a tighter hug.

"Shut up, are you not _always _right." I joked tilting her chin towards me.

"Maybe not all of the time, but most of the time." She smiled brightly.

"Are not." "Are too." "Are not."

The next part came so suddenly I'm still not sure who started it, but the next thing I knew her lips were on mine. It may have only been a few seconds long, but it felt like time froze. It felt like… there wasn't anything else in the world besides just me and her. Before I could wrap my head around it, she pulled away. Her face dropped as she untangled herself from me. "I-I have to go." Her hands shook as she grabbed her phone and her cardigan and headed toward the door.

I sat there in shock for a moment. _What just happened? Surely I didn't just imagine that. _

By the time I had realized she had gone, she was already standing at the door. I jumped off the couch. "Come on, Kali. Can't we talk about this?"

"Talk about what? Nothing happened." She put her hand on the doorknob before I gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Kali—"

"I-if Brad ever found out he would have my head! He would _kill_ me!" There was so much panic, so much worry in her expression. So much fear. Her body was trembling again.

"Don't you think you're exaggerating just a little bit? I'm sure he'll understand…"

Of all of the things I wanted to un-see in life, the pain that flashed in her eyes that moment was the first thing. "You just… don't understand, Nick… I have to go." She muttered as her voice cracked on the last word. She threw herself out of door, and sprinted out down the hallway.

Of all things I felt today, confusion was most collective. _Why was she so jumpy? Why had she looked so hurt today? Hadn't she kissed me back? Did she kiss me first?_

* * *

I couldn't get out of there fast enough. My head was reeling and my heart was pounding as my thoughts went rampant in my mind.

_What just happened? What did I just do? What was I doing here? Why did I even come here in the first place? You came to visit your best friend, Nick; that's what you were doing. Yeah, visit him, not have a make out session on his couch. God… if Brad even heard so much as a glimpse about this—_

My thoughts were interrupted by a loud whistle followed by a bright flash.

"Hey baby, what are you doing hanging around the Jonas family? Are you here to spend the night with your boyfriend?" A mocking voice called to my left. The continuous flashes from the cameras left me blind and unable to look up.

_Great, the paparazzi, just what I needed. _I nearly rolled my eyes. You would think after being friends with someone famous for their whole life, the people stalking their every move would know me too. I guess that's one thing about the media, they focus on who and what they want to focus on.

"Nah, I don't know man. She looks like she's about to tear up, maybe they just broke up?" another photographer replied in the same annoying mocking tone.

"Fuck off." I growled, pushing my way through the crowd.

"What's wrong princess? Can't handle a little rejection?"

I was nearly two seconds away from punching someone before a sudden burst of self-hatred came over me. I threw myself through the crowd and out to my car. Fuck this, fuck all of it. Fucking paparazzi and their fucking ways. What was the point of their job anyway?

I sat there in my car for god knows how long, unmoving. I had no desire to do anything but sit there and sob. The hate for myself and my life in general at that moment was overwhelming and indescribable. I managed to find the strength to drive myself home, knowing if I stayed out in front of his apartment it would only make matters worse. I crawled into bed that night in full out sobs. I had no will to move or do anything but sob. And I did just that until I fell asleep.

The next morning was the first time I had my own headline: _Nick Jonas and his girlfriend's indoor date ends in tears._


	3. Chapter 3

**As a caution before hand, I would just like to warn you that is a pretty graphic and heartbreaking chapter. I hope I don't upset anyone by writing this. Trigger Warning: Rape/Abuse.**

* * *

The next morning, I awoke to a loud pounding sound. I grabbed my phone from off of my side table to check the time and noticed I had 5 missed calls and 2 texts. 3 of the calls and both of the texts were from Nick, that didn't surprise me. The other caller ID however sent an uncomfortable shiver down my spine. Suddenly, his familiar booming voice could be heard.

"KALI! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!" He roared through the door. He was pissed. Of course he was pissed, I missed not one, but both of his calls.

I rolled out of bed and glanced over at the mirror. I realized I didn't have the decency to change out of my clothes from last night. I was too emotionally drained last night to think or do anything else but sob. I shook off my thoughts as I sprinted over to the door and opened it with shaking hands.

"Where the fuck were you last night." Brad growled, the alcohol was evident on his breath.

"I-I was at a friend's." I rambled, at a loss of better words.

"Well, were you too busy at your friend's to answer my god damn phone calls?!" The growing volume and testosterone in his voice made me shield myself back into the wall.

He placed his hands on the wall on both sides of me, trapping me beneath him. A familiar fear came over me and I felt a few tears trickle down my face.

"Don't play innocent me, don't think I didn't see the headlines from last night." He scoffed, with a raging fire burning in his eyes and repulsion radiating in his voice.

"Wh-what headlines?" I couldn't imagine the kinds of things they were saying.

His face formed upward into somewhat of a smirk, pulling me into him. "Don't play dumb with me. You were at that fucking asshole's house last night." He sounded more annoyed than upset or hurt at the possibility of me with someone else. _"Nick Jonas and his girlfriend's indoor date ends in tears." _He narrated in a sarcastic tone.

"Was I not good enough for you?" He sneered, pushing himself yet even closer still. "Did I not give you what you wanted?!"

His fingers started trailing up my shirt as he whispered into my ear, "You're the damn prude who doesn't want to have sex unless i'm telling you much you mean to me." His voice was hoarse as his fingertips reached my bra. "Is that why you were crying, last night? Did he try and force him myself on you too, but you too much of a cunt to give him what he wanted?" An abrupt rush of courage came over me and I slapped him in the face before attempting to push him away.

He grabbed my arm and slammed me up back against the wall. Slapping me back across the face and nearly toppling me over, he took me by surprise. "You and I both know I'm not that easy to give up, princess." My hand flew to my face in pain and I noticed what felt like blood in its place. He was always so careful about not hitting me anywhere too visible. Whether it was out of fear of getting caught or just out of sheer luck, I didn't know. My hand remained clung to my face out of shock and pain.

"Do we understand each other yet? I'm in charge, _sweetheart."_ He whispered in a sickening mock tone of affection. "I don't get why you wanted to wait in the first place… I'm your boyfriend, I get to have you all to myself… any time I want to." His fingers began to roll up my shirt.

I figured there was no use in fighting how about this now… he was drunk and easily three times my size. He'd had his way with me before… this time would be no different. He had no boundaries and I had no fight in me, not today. I would have lost anyway. He continued making his way up my torso as my tears had become sobs.

I remembered the first time Brad had taken me. He had obviously had a few drinks in him when he surprised me by visiting me unexpectedly one night. He had nothing else better to do than come and see me, he claimed. He was my boyfriend, I didn't object to the random visit. It was no surprise to me when he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me for a drunken kiss. He wasn't known to be too affectionate sober. Soon the kisses became more passionate, more urgent. A side of him I wasn't too used to seeing before.

I remembered the way he pulled away to look at me with glassy eyes, the way his fingers were trailing up my torso. The need in his eyes. I didn't know how to respond to the hoarse voice in my ear asking me to join him in bed. I was so nervous, I didn't have any experience. I didn't want to disappoint him. However, the voice soothingly whispering kind things in my ear calmed me down. He temporarily soothed my fears with soft words. It was all so unplanned and unexpected. I felt shaky still when he finally got me into bed for the first time.

Even now, all those stories of how it was supposed to be loving and the most magical night of life were starting to sound like utter bullshit. A pure fairy tale, far from the life I live. Sometimes, I can still feel the pain coursing through me even now. He took no pity on me that night. He claimed that it would have hurt still, even if he did.

He had slept with me a few times since then, each time still painful, but less painful than the last. Wasn't this supposed to be fun and enjoyable? Wasn't I supposed to be enjoying myself? It was different for everyone, I guess. He seemed to be enjoying himself, except for the times my pain became unbearable and I yelled out in pain.

His eyes widened out of surprise slightly as his hands reached the top of my shirt. I knew the markings on my skin were bad, but I didn't know how badly. I didn't have the courage to face them in the mirror, and the fact I usually were nothing but sweaters usually helped hide them. He pulled my shirt back down and gave me a look of disgust.

"God, you look horrifying." He said with absolute distaste. "I think I could handle your whining tonight anyway." He pushed me away, nearly throwing me to the ground. He held a hand to his forehead and sighed.

He held himself against a wall to slow his swaying and looked over at me. "I'm going to the store to get some more liquor… then maybe tonight I'll be able to stand your whining in bed. I'll see you after work, bitch." He smirked, smacking my ass and finally leaving me alone to my misery.

The warmth of his breath and his threatening words still left goose bumps on my skin. I wasn't sure why I found the idea of him taking me felt so traumatizing. It wasn't technically rape… was it? I mean, I was letting him do whatever he wanted to, I didn't fight him. I didn't protest. No matter how much I was against it.

I somehow managed to pull myself out of my horrid thoughts and into the shower. I didn't know how long I stood there not moving, feeling the warm water turn ice cold on my skin. I stood there just scrubbing away at my skin until it felt raw. I could still feel his touch… the bruises were still there…. no matter how I much I scrubbed. Why did I feel so dirty, all the time? No matter what I did, or said, I wasn't going to be enough. I gave him my all, always attempting to keep him happy and satisfied. No matter what I did, or what I said, I was going to ruin something. Why did I bother doing anything at all?

* * *

**Again, I would just like to apologize on the content of the chapter and I really hope I didn't upset anyone.**

** In other news, thank everyone and anyone who is reading this! I would also like to thank my dear friends Zoey and Milly for their support and feedback in me!**

** As always, reviews are always greatly appreciated!**


	4. Chapter 4

Sometimes it was hard to tell what the exact part of this all was the worse. The endless nights of tears and self-hatred? The anxiety creeping into your bones at the thought of you realizing you're never going to be good enough? The habit of jumping at the slightest movement, touch or noise? The sound of the heat finally switching on might as well have been him kicking my door in in the middle of the night. The millions of voices running through your mind, telling you'll never be good enough or worth anything. There was one, however, that was always the most overpowering. _What did I do to deserve this?_

I continued sitting there on the floor of the shower, for god knows how long, before I finally decided it was time to pick myself up and get ready for work. If there was one thing that kept me going anymore, it was my job. I hadn't missed a day of work in my entire life, and that wasn't going to stop now.

Passing by the mirror (nearly scaring myself half to death), I noticed the faint bruise on my face from our dispute this morning. I groaned; there was no way in hell this was going to go away before work, and makeup was out of the question. Three bottles of concealer had gone into trying to cover the damages on my body, leaving me with very little supplies. Covering the nuisance with loose strands of my hair, I prayed they would stay in place as I got finished getting ready for work. Since the required uniform was nothing more than a black polo and any pair of black bases, it only took a few minutes to get ready and leave even with the few limits with the condition of my body.

Walking into the tiny café on the corner, I couldn't help but notice how empty the place was. I was no Starbucks, but I didn't want to imagine this place getting shut down. Hell, it was far from the quality of a semi-decent apartment, but it had grown to be my second home; my shelter. Entering the small building, I admired the smell of coffee welcoming me in and comforting me.

"Well it's about time you showed up." Jeff, a co-worker of mine, called from behind the counter; vigorously scrubbing away at the countertop. "I thought you weren't coming in today." His tone was somewhere between relieved and overly stressed.

"When do I ever miss a day of work?" I scoffed, pulling on a dark-red apron. The seemingly only color in the dim, dark shop. "What are you stressing about anyway? There's like three people in here."

"I'm just surprised the villagers didn't show up to your front door with torches and pitchforks and burned you at the stake." His complete façade of worry and stress faded in a smirk. The man was a master at putting on a show, I swear he was by far the best actor I have ever seen.

"What the hell are you going on about now?" I groaned, rolling my eyes and pulling myself behind the counter.

"All I'm saying is, adultery is still looked down upon in society, Hester." The smirk never leaving his face.

I shot him a look hoping to make him feel as dumb as he was sounded.

Finally giving up on his attempted joke, he pulled out a tabloid from under the counter. A picture of me blocking my side of my face from the flashing lights.

"You might as well run around with a bright red 'A' embroidered on your shirt." He continued on, jokingly as I looked at the paper in annoyance.

"Oh please," I scoffed, crumpling the paper. "Who's even going to take this seriously? Hormonal twelve year olds? Just because I was seen at his place doesn't automatically make him my boyfriend. Like I care what some twelve year old fan is going to think."

Nearly seconds after I threw the paper into the recycling, the service bell rang. In came two girls who couldn't be more than 13.

The first spoke up in a slightly nasally voice as she popped her gum. "Hey, can I get one Vanilla Frap—"

"If you want a Frappuccino, you're going to have to go find a Starbucks, Sweetie. We only sell real coffee here." Jeff snapped in a sassy mocking tone.

Just as soon as the first costumer began to speak up once again, her friend nudged and spoke in a similar tone, "Isn't that Nick Jonas' girlfriend?"

Jeff turned to me with yet an even wider smirk than before. I stomped on his foot to prevent any more of his god damn Scarlet Letter references.

"No, I'm not…" I knew I was clearly hesitant, only because I was still trying to figure this all out myself. "Well, I mean… I'm his friend who's a girl, but not I'm his girl… friend. Actually, I'm in a relationship with someone else."

Anxiety was never a good friend of mine, if it was, it would have stood clear of me completely. Today was one of those days where it hit harder than usual and if there was one thing that suffered the most from my anxiety, it was my hair. I knew I had a problem with absentmindedly playing (and quite honestly biting) on my hair when I was anxious; but trying to avoid moving the loose strands from my face only added to the knots woven into my back.

"He must be something special if you chose him over Nick Jonas." The first girl spoke again, smacking her gum loudly, startling me.

"O. M. G., you're totally nervous about this aren't you?!" The second girl piped up after most likely noticing how uneasy I was feeling. "You can tell us all about it, Sweetie. We promise we'll keep it on the down low."

"Lexi," her friend groaned. "You can't push those things on someone who _obviously_ doesn't want to talk about it. You have to start with small talk. So, what's he like?" She demonstrated to her friend, who she identified as Lexi.

It's not like I trusted them with such personal information in the first place, but I also couldn't stand talking with people more than I had to. That was one of the benefits of working here, It was little small talk and hardly ever busy with costumers.

"He's a… regular guy? He watches sports… and hangs out with his friends." I kept it simple knowing Nick would have my head if I gave out anything too personal, not that there was much to speak of for his personal life anyway. He had been out of a relationship for a few years and he wasn't much of a partier.

"Yeah, sure. A regular guy." The girl who had been identified as Lexi, scoffed.

"What's your boyfriend like then?" Lexi's friend voiced after a few minutes.

Suddenly my heart was beating in my throat and I felt like screaming.

Before I realized what I was doing, I looked over at Jeff to realize he was staring me at with wide, concerned eyes that resembled a puppy's.

As if right on cue, an older woman walked in asking for, assumingly, the other girl because they both said their goodbyes as they left.

"…It's Bailey right?" The unnamed friend pondered in a way that would have sounded unnecessarily bitchy if it wasn't the way she naturally spoke. I had never been more thankful for someone so spacey and conceited in my entire life.

"It's Kali." A small smile on my face.

When the door slammed shut behind them, Jeff instantly turned on his heels and faced me. "What the hell happened to you? And what the hell happened the other night at Nick's?"

In all honesty, I wish _I_ knew. I was still attempting to figure this all out on my own and preferred to keep it to myself, and so I did.

Or at least I tried to.

* * *

"Will you at least try and talk to her for me?" My second youngest brother of 21 years begged me. If it weren't for his pride, he would be on the floor on his knees.

"Why can't you get Kevin to do it?" I groaned.

"Because he's too busy with Danielle and their baby planning."

Ever since Danielle and Kevin had started talking about children, the planning never seemed end. Now with only months until the baby would be born, they were both jumping off walls.

Nick was out of his mind if he thought he was going to get me to talk to Kali for him. Sure, she was more than just some girl to Nick, but he could handle his own damn problems.

"What the hell makes you think she's going to listen to _me_? She _hates_ me!"

"Because you haven't tried to make a move on her… recently." I smirked thinking back to junior year of high school when Kali was just a freshman.

After taking a long sigh of annoyance at my little brother staring back at me with intense dark brown eyes, I finally gave in. I mean why the hell not? I don't have anything to gain or lose in this. Besides maybe after rejoining Nick and Kali, I could get a free coffee.

We discussed what he wanted me to pass on and whatnot for another half hour because he couldn't make up his god damned mind on what he wanted to say. I hadn't talked to the girl in like 2 years knowing what to talk to her about was far out of my expertise.

Making my way over to the shop it's self wasn't too difficult, being only a few blocks away. It was the fans that made it an ordeal.

Don't get me wrong, I love my job, and my fans. I mean, who doesn't love a little extra attention? It would just be nice to walk across the god damned street within being interrupted to take 3-5 pictures each and every trip. Although, I can't complain too much about gifts and extremely attractive fans. And fans that were _both_? God, don't get me started.

In all seriousness, sure it could get annoying, but I was grateful. I was grateful for the money, the gifts and for something I didn't admit often, the support. I was grateful for it all.

I made it all the way down the block and nearly inches away from the door before I heard a shrill voice scream to my left. "Oh my god, Joe Jonas!"

"Hey guys." I turned to respond shooting them a wide grin. "What's up?"

"Could I get a picture?!" The first one piped up, jumping in place.

"Could _we _get a picture?" The second one corrected her.

"Of course." The two girls pulled out their phones and snapped a few pictures as they squealed.

Unsurprisingly, they also asked for my autograph as well. "So who am I making this out to?"

"Mary and Lexi."

I scribbled the first chicken scratch autograph onto the back of the magazine they handed me.

"Hey Joe, what do you think of Nick's girlfriend?"

It was a simple question, but I couldn't chuckle. Who was the rumored girlfriend now? Miss USA? "Who?"

"You know, Kali."

My head shot up so fast I was surprised I didn't get whiplash. "Kali?"

"Yeah. What do you think of her?"

I didn't feel bothered to read gossip magazines or sites anymore but I felt like I just missed the shooting of the president. The one identified as Mary flipped over the magazine in my hand and sure enough there was Kali on the front page.

I hurriedly scribbled the second signature and rushed into the café.

"What the hell do they mean Nick Jonas' girlfriend?!" I marched in, directly to the counter.

Kali looked as though she was somewhere between exhausted and annoyed.

"No Joseph, I am not dating your brother."

"Well I know that! I would have found out by now. Just- someone explain to me what the hell is going on."

The dark haired co-worker standing next to her looked just as confused as I felt. This only encouraged me to interrogate Kali further.

"Look," She sighed, as she ran a frustrated hand through the hair that wasn't tied back. "Nick and I were just hanging out and then as I was leaving the paparazzi attacked me."

"But what about your br—" the guy behind the counter asked before Kali interjected.

"That was something different."

"What—" I began to ask myself before she interrupted me this time.

"What the hell are you doing here, Joe? Are you here to order coffee, because if you are I can hand you a cup and you can be on your way out."

"Nick needs to talk to you." I explained gently yet urgently.

"Well why can't he come and do that himself?"

"Because you've ignored every single phone call and text he's sent you the past two days. You can try and pull this 'nothing happened' bullshit, but everyone knows more than that happened that night. We just don't know what."

"We kissed." She blurted out, her face slightly blushed. "I went to Nick's to hang out like old times and towards the end, we kissed each other and it got awkward so I left."

"Did Brad find out? How did he take it?" I asked. I didn't know much about him, but Nick always somehow managed to talk about how annoyed he was by him.

Immediately following the question, she bowed her head and began scrubbing the shining countertop in front of her. In the process of doing so, the hair on the side of her head fell out of the placement it had been in earlier, exposing a shadowy but apparent bruise on her face.

"…Kali?" I heard my voice crack. Surely, he didn't….

Her once bright blue eyes, looked wan and miserable. "He didn't take it well."

* * *

**I'm so sorry for the wait on this last chapter! School's been kicking my ass lately. As always, thanks so much to the amazing Milly for your input and advice! I love you all so much for your everlasting support and faith in me and this story. Thank you all so, so much! I hope you all enjoy this chapter as well as the rest of the story.**

**Of course, Reviews as always greatly appreciated and ultimately my biggest motivation.**


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